You will write an essay based on one of the SOL prompts that has to do with school.
Choose one of the prompts below to work with this week.
Create a T-Chart
Complete a 4-Square organizer
Write a 5-paragraph essay
Revise and edit your essay
Many schools require students to participate in volunteer programs in their communities as a requirement for graduation. However some people feel that requiring students to volunteer defeats the purpose of volunteering. Do you think students should be required to volunteer in their communities to receive their high school diplomas? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.
Research has shown that teenagers experience a change in their internal sleep clocks so that waking up early and going to sleep early are difficult. Should high school classes begin later in the day and end later in the day to accommodate students’ natural sleep clocks? Consider some of the benefits and disadvantages to starting school later in the day. Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.
Many students become involved in extracurricular activities to enrich their educational experiences, and some even become involved in so many activities that they have little time to study or complete homework assignments. Should schools control student involvement in extracurricular activities, or should the decision regarding extracurricular involvement be left to students and their families? Take a position on the issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.
Most students enjoy summer vacation, but some educators feel that the summer break is too long and that students do not retain information as easily when they return in the fall. Some people argue that there should be year-round schools, where there would a be a 3–4 week break in the summer, a longer winter break, and a week off in the spring and fall. Does this sound like a good idea to you? Why or why not? Take a position on the issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.
Most public places, including schools, have installed video cameras for surveillance. Is the installation of surveillance cameras the best way to provide security, or is it a privacy violation that would not deliver what it promises? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.
*note: notice how this prompt does not limit you to discussing cameras in schools. You should discuss other public places as well.
Some people believe that students should be required to take a music, a drama, or an art class. Should students be required to take a class in the arts, or should such classes be electives? Take a position on this issue. Use reasons and specific examples to support your position.
Some schools use cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes. Think about the effects of allowing students to have and use cell phones in classrooms. Take a position on this issue. Use reasons and specific examples to support your opinion.
To conserve energy and resources, some businesses have adopted a four-day work week, with each day consisting of ten hours. Should your school follow this model by extending the school day two hours? After considering the benefits and disadvantages to a four-day school week, take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.
Some school districts offer programs that allow high school students to graduate in three years instead of the traditional four years. Most students who follow this plan must take courses during the summers or in the evenings or may not be able to take elective courses. Is it a good idea for students to finish high school in three years and enter college or the work force one year early? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.
Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.
Some people believe in praising a student’s work to build self-esteem, even if the work is not the student’s best effort. They believe that students must be self-confident in order to learn. Others believe that praise given for deficient work undermines learning by lowering standards. They believe that the source of true self-esteem is achievement. Does true self-esteem come from praise or does it come from achievement? Take a position on this issue. Use reasons and specific examples to support your ideas.
In his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum lists these simple lessons: put things back where you found them, play and work some every day, hold hands and stick together. Do you agree or disagree that these lessons apply to life today? Or is life too complicated for such simplicity? Take a position on the issue. Support your response with reasons and examples.